


Silent Screams For Unstable Souls

by HowToLoveADragon



Category: Soul Eater
Genre: Body Horror, Depression, F/M, Gen, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2020-01-15 20:44:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18506752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HowToLoveADragon/pseuds/HowToLoveADragon
Summary: ONESHOT After the defeat of the Kishin Asura, things return back to normal...mostly. Maka is tortured with nightmares almost every night and losing sleep because of it. But is that all?





	Silent Screams For Unstable Souls

**So this is after the anime but instead of Crona and Ragnarok living with Soul and Maka, they live with Marie and Stein for the sake of this story.**

"Oi, Maka..." I jerk awake at the sudden sound of my weapon. I look around at my surroundings to see that I'm at school, specifically Stein's classroom, with drool on the table below me. I'm assuming that's where I just was...asleep...

I turn to face my partner, "Yeah?" I ask, covering my mouth to yawn.

"You alright? This is like, the third time this week you've fallen asleep in class. So uncool..."

Rolling my eyes, I scoff and cross my arms. "Oh shut it, Soul, I'm fine, I just...didn't have a good night's rest last night."

"Uh-huh..." he drawls out, crossing his arms behind his neck and leaning back. An angry tick mark appears above my head but before I can Maka-Chop him, Professor Stein rolls into the room on his swivel chair.

"I'm back," he says, turning the screw in his head. "Shinigami-sama wanted me to tell all of you that you have a specific assignment to do this week."

Everyone groans except the select few students who enjoy school, like myself.

"Quiet down everyone... Now this assignment is about the stability of one's soul. What does it take to make a soul so unstable, it breaks? Due next week. Dismissed." At the Professor's word, the bell rings loudly.

I slowly get up and stretch my body, smiling lightly at the satisfying pops and overall feel-goodness throughout my figure. _'Is that even a word? Man, I'm really tired...'_

"Maka, you comin'?" I open my eyes and see Soul is already in the classroom doorway, leaning against it with his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah!" Smiling, I lift my bag over my shoulder and hurry out. "Anything planned today?" I ask him as we make our way down the hall.

"Not that I know of..." Soul sighs.

I hum. "Okay, well maybe we could go shopping...what do you want for din-!" I startle at the sudden change in atmosphere. "Eh?"

"YAHOO!" Black*Star comes barreling in. "Soul!" he cries, throwing his hand in the air, probably for a high five. Soul claps his hand on Star's.

 _'I knew it...'_  I frown and slouch, not really in the mood for anything loud at the moment.

"Black*Star!"  _'Huh?'_  Tsubaki comes running up after her meister. When she reaches us, Tsubaki bows repeatedly, apologizing, "Sorry!"

"You guys ready for a game of basketball!?" The blue-haired assassin jumps in the air with another 'Yahoo!'.

"Hell yeah we are!" my partner grins his shark-toothed grin and puts his fist up.

"Wait! I never agreed to this!" I wave my hands, taking a step back worriedly.

"Aw come on, Maka! Don't be a party pooper! You can just sit on the bench this time, Liz'll be here!" Black*Star reassures me...though it's suspicious.

"Fine!" I throw my hands up in defeat, "But I better not have to play like last time!"

"Yeah yeah..." Star waves me off while walking with Soul.

**~~Time Skip brought to you by: A sound soul dwells within a sound mind...and a sound body...~~**

"Woohoo!" I look up and see Patti jumping everywhere, trying to pry the basketball from Kid's hand. I think the teams are: Kid, Liz, and Tsubaki. So the other one is; Soul, Black*Star, and Patti.

 ***Yawn*** I cover my mouth for what seems like the millionth time today. As I continue to read my book, my eye lids feel heavy. Next thing I knew, I was out like a light.

**~~Soul's POV~~**

"Alright!" I smirk as I make another basket. "That's game." I share some high fives with Black*Star and Patti.

"No! It can't be over! You guys scored nine points! It has to be eight!" Kid complains, waving his arms like crazy.

The twin pistols throw their heads back and groan. "Kid, we already told you. We had to make this a short game today so we have time for shopping!" Liz drags the shinigami by his suit collar away from the court. Patti cackles maniacally and follows.

"Well. Good game, Soul," Tsubaki tells me, her hand extended, waiting for mine to take hers.

"Yeah," I grin, "good game."

"Hey, Soul! Wanna come back and hang at my place? Play some video games with a god?" My not-so-quiet-assassin friend puts his thumb on his puffed out chest.

"Nah, I can't, Maka and I need to get some things for dinner." I jab my thumb behind my shoulder to my meister. Star only nods and gives me a toothy smile and a thumbs up. Tsubaki, however, who was standing behind my idiotic friend, suddenly gasps and covers her mouth with her hands.

Frowning, quirking an eyebrow, and turning around to see what's got the demon weapon so riled up, I see that Maka is slouched over on her side, snoozing on the stone bench. Her mouth is open as she breathes deeply.

Groaning, I wipe a hand down my sweaty face. "Ugh...not again."

"What do you mean 'again'?" the Camilla blossom asks worriedly.

"This idiot hasn't been getting sleep ever since we defeated the Kishin..." I explain while walking over to her. "She was fine when we were in the infirmary that week...but when we got home...I don't think she's gotten more than a few hours of sleep each night." I brush a hand through my hair, feeling the hot waves emitting off my scalp.

"Oh no...did you take her to Stein? Maybe get some sleeping pills? Maybe there's something wrong with her from the battle that we didn't see!" Tsubaki starts panicking.

I frown and go to deny her claims but Black*Star seems to be on it, already. "Tsubaki, don't worry about Maka. After that battle was a mess, yeah, but everyone got hardly scathed thanks to yours truly!"  _'I should have known his comforting would end with boosting his ego...'_

"Your grammar could use work, though..." I hear his partner mumble and look away. I stifle a chuckle.

"Right, Tsubaki?" Star turns to face the ever polite lady.

"R-right!" She smiles brightly and turns to lead the way home, waving to me. "Goodbye, Soul! Take her to Stein's if it gets any worse!"

"Yeah, yeah..." I wave back with a smile but as soon as their figures are gone from view, I frown.

"Ugh...so uncool, Maka..." I take her book, put the bookmark in the page she dropped it on (I'll get Maka-Chopped if she looses her place) and slip it into my jeans. Then, I link an arm under her knees and one under her neck, successfully lifting her and carrying her comfortably, for the both of us.

**~~Time Skip brought to you by: 8, the most symmetrical number!~~**

By the time I lug Maka all the way home, it's dusk, which means no time for shopping for dinner. I sigh tiredly as I set my meister on the couch. _'She's gotten heavier...'_ I enter the kitchen and go into the fridge, pulling out a carton of orange juice and promptly drinking from it.

"...What...Soul?" From the corner of my eye, I see her figure move on the couch sloppily.

"Baka..." I trudge over and sit on a single chair. "You fell asleep at the basketball court..." She rubs her eyes and yawns.

"Oh, mmm'sorry." Maka lays back down and blinks a few times as I watch her intensely. Sighing, I click on the television for the time being, knowing she probably doesn't wanna talk right now.

An hour passes and I think that idiot has fallen asleep again. I groan and stand up, grabbing a nearby blanket and throwing it over her small frame.

Looking back one more time, I'll admit, worryingly, I retire for the night.

**~~Maka's POV~~**

_'Finally, he's gone.'_ I open one eye just to be sure. Yeah, he's gone. _'I know he's worried about me, but I'm fine! Really!'_  I throw the fluffy blanket off me and sit up. The clock shows 12:08, meaning Blair should be home any minute.  _'That is if she's not with some guy again...ugh...'_  I quickly stand up, regretting it almost immediately since I feel unbalanced on my feet, and move to my room.

I turn on the light, wincing from the brightness, and settle on my bed. Turning to the left, I see the moon shine brightly. It's maniac smile oozes blood, watching everything from above. I take out a book I decide to read for the night. Everyday, since the defeat of the Kishin, I've had torturing nightmares. Every time I fall asleep, at least at night, I'd get them.

So I've resorted to just not sleeping at all at night. Taking little naps to replenish what energy I lost the night before, the next day, is easier for me.

I can't tell you much about my nightmares, other than my friends die a terrible death by Asura. Slow, painful. Then I wake up when he gets me. Each time, I fail my friends, my family, my teachers.

I shake my head, _'I can't be thinking about that right now...'_ and focus on my story.

Next thing I knew, my alarm went off. Exactly 6:30. I groan and rub my temple. "Eh? Maka?" Soul's voice rumbles through our apartment.

"Yeah, Soul?" I call, getting dressed.

"Oh, you're in here...hey, listen-" Soul walks into my room and then stops.

"SOUL GET OUT, YOU PERVERT!" I throw my encyclopedia at him, covering what I don't already have covered.

After the door closes, I see a little bit of blood come in from under the door. "I hope that blood is from that empty skull of yours and not your nose, baka..." I growl, finishing putting on the last of my clothes for the day.

"It...is..." I hear his pained groans right outside.

I finally exit my room, carefully stepping over the body still idle on the floor, and get out some eggs for breakfast. Few minutes later, it's done and ready to be eaten. "Soul! Breakfast!" I call him, setting down a couple plates and forks.

"Just eggs today? You usually make bacon with it..." My partner sits down and makes a slurp sound. He always does that.

"Yeah, be grateful I made anything at all..." I mumble, sticking egg in my mouth.

"Ne, Maka, you alright?" I put my fork down.

"Yes. Soul. How many times are you going to ask me that!?" my voice raises a couple octaves, not on purpose, though. The boy across from me stays still, his fork in mid-air and his mouth open. He blinks a few times, then sets the utensil down.

"I ask, because you're my meister, and something isn't right. You aren't sleeping good."

"How do you know how well I sleep?" More eggs get shoveled into my mouth.

"Because you keep collapsing everywhere we go! Everyone can see it, Maka, Tsubaki was worried for you yesterday!" The white-haired demon scythe stands up, now looking irritated.

"Okay, so I've had a few rough nights! So what? I'm. Fine," I argue back.

"A few rough nights? A  _few_ rough nights? Maka, ever since we got back from the infirmary you've not gotten a wink of sleep unless it was in the day time!" he retorts.

Growling, I stand up as well, matching him in frustration. "Who cares if I lose a little bit of sleep? It's none of your concern! I'm going to school," I bite, grabbing my bag and rushing out the door. When I slam said door shut, I breathe out a big sigh of pent up anger, putting my back against the door and sliding down to sit on the carpeted floor.

I hear some shuffling going on in our home and footsteps getting closer to the door. Gasping, I stand up and book it before I can get interrogated again.

**~~Soul's POV~~**

_'Greaaaat...Maka's mad...'_  Groaning, I brush my clammy hand though my messy hair. "Baka...you really are something..." Fixing myself up a bit to look cool, I hurry out the door. When I exit our house, I expected Maka to be here, waiting for me to drive us to school, but she's no where in sight. "Shit! Maka, you idiot..."

I search around for a bit before it gets too close to first period. "Dammit..." I curse and make my way to Shibusen. Entering the classroom, a minute late, (I would've been longer to look cool if I didn't think Maka wasn't here already) Marie-Sensei scolds me.

"Soul, you're late and- where's Maka?" I stop in my tracks at this and look to our usual seats. Marie is right, Maka's not there.

I scratch my chin. "I thought she'd be here, Sensei, she ran out before I could drive us to school this morning," I explain.

"Has anyone seen Maka?" the golden-haired teacher asks her class. Most people nod or shrug, but Patti stands up with a giggle.

"I did! She was mumbling something, walking down the hall. Last I saw her she was by the janitor's closet! Hahaha." Marie smiles.

"Thank you, Patti. Soul, go find her?"

"Right." I nod to the teacher and promptly leave. "Maka!?" I shout her name down the endless halls of Shibusen. "Janitor's closet, janitor's closet..." Mumbling while I move, I come upon the door I'm looking for. "Ha!" I open it, not really sure what I'm expecting other than my meister.

Inside is none other than my partner, coiled up against the wall as she sleeps. Her chest rises slowly and declines even slower in steady breaths. I sigh in relief, bending down to pick her up again. "That's it...you're going to Stein." I finally put my foot down. "S'not like you can do anything about it anyway...you're asleep. Annnnd now I'm talking to a sleeping girl...so uncool..."

Carefully, I lift my foot and knock it against the mad doctor's door. It opens immediately and a tall man towers over us. "Yes?" he asks in his monotonous voice.

"Look, Maka isn't gonna like this, but I need you to do a check up on her, or something. She hasn't been sleeping and she keeps collapsing in the daytime because of it." Stein rubs his chin, gesturing for me to put my meister on a bed. I do so and turn to look at him.

"Move away, I'll look at her...when did his start?" Franken Stein asks.

"Uhhh." I scratch my head,  _'Oh yeah!_ ' "After we got back from the infirmary after the defeat of Asura."

Humming in acknowledgement, Stein gets some tools out. But before he can examine her, he turns to face me. "I'm gonna need you to leave while I check on her."

"What? No! You'll end up dissecting her or something!"

"Soul." His voice is stern and cold.

"Fine," I give in and exit the room.

**~~Maka's POV~~**

_'It's...dark...well, that's a given, considering every time I dream, it's dark. But this dark...it's different than usual. Where was I last? Oh right, the janitor's closet. I didn't want to miss class, but I also didn't want to faint in front of everyone.'_

_"Maaaakaaaa"_

_'It's that voice again. Asura.'_

Before anything can appear or happen, I'm woken up with a jerk. I breathe heavily and take in my surroundings carefully.  _'I'm...in the infirmary?'_

"Ah, you're awake."

I startle at the voice, but relax when Stein comes into view on his rolling chair.

"Doctor Stein?"

Twisting the screw in his head, the doctor answers my unspoken but obvious question, "Soul brought you in. Found you asleep in the janitor's closet. He also told me you haven't slept since getting back from this very place after the battle with Asura."

_'Soul did this? I don't know if I should be thankful or angry.'_

"Soul, brought me here?"

"Indeed. He voiced his concerns over your lack of sleep and asked me to examine you- don't worry, I didn't dissect you or anything."  _'Is that suppose to make me feel better?'_

"Uh, did you find anything?"  _'I'm not sure I want to hear the answer...'_

"No. You're physically healthy." I sigh deeply in relief. "However, I saw that your soul is very dim, flickering in brightness intensity, if you will." I blink. "Is anything troubling you, Maka? Either physically or mentally?" Stein asks, a notepad ready to be written on.

"N-no, nothing like that! Why is my soul dim?" Wringing my hands together, I avoid eye contact with the professor.

"Your soul is being attacked. My guess is that it's mental and not physical, seeing that you're healthy. Things like dark thoughts, nightmares, those kinds of things are the cause." I take in what this man is saying.

"And what if I don't have either of those?" I try.

"Then either I did my examination wrong, which is highly unlikely, or you're lying." His glasses flash in the light, so I can't see his eyes but I'm assuming they're burning holes into my skin. I don't say anything and play with the hem of my shirt. "You're dismissed, but I suggest you talk to someone."

"Right...thanks, Professor..." I shuffle out of the room, my eyes adjusting to the brighter setting out in the hall.

"Oi."

"Ah!" I jump, ready to attack whoever was waiting for me, but it turned out to be Soul, resting against the wall with his eyes closed.

"Geez, Maka, why're you so jumpy?" I pout and don't answer him. "Anyway, what did Stein say?"

"I want to know why you took me to him? I told you I was fine!"

"Eh? Sure you were...now are you gonna tell me what he said or do I have to backtrack and ask him myself?" Biting my lip, I decide to just say what Stein told me.

"He said my soul is very dim, flickering in brightness intensity, if you will." I see Soul's sharp teeth when he grins.

"And that means?"

"I-I don't know..."

"Well what's the cause of your dim soul?" the boy pushes.

"I-Stein said dark thoughts or...or nightmares. Those kinds of things. But I don't have any of those, so I'm fine!" I try my best at a bright smile, even putting my fist up with determination, but Soul just looks on with his bored expression, not looking like he believes me.

"Maka, you need sleep."

"I do sleep!" Pouting, I cross my arms.  _'How long is this hallway!?'_  "Eh?" I say, confused when we turn to the exit.

"We're going home, baka. Dismissed by Marie-Sensei and that undead freak." My lips make an 'O' form.

"You shouldn't call Sid names..." I tell him in a scolding manner.

He yawns, "Whatever... What's for dinner?"  _'Good, I'm done with the personal questions...'_

"Uh, spaghetti?"

"Fine with me." I roll my eyes at his laziness.

**~~Time Skip brought to you by: Schemes; Soul's got one~~**

"Soul?" I call from the kitchen when I hear the front door close.

"Yeah!" He slouches in and places a bag on the table. I go into it and grab the content inside. Ground beef. Perfect. "Dinner almost done?"

"Yeah, just gotta cook up the beef and add it into the noodles," I tell my partner.

We eat dinner in relative quiet. No words are spoken expect Soul's thank you for the meal.

"I'm heading off to bed, night." Soul waves and disappears in his room.

"Night," I yawn back. Changing into my pajamas, I get comfy under my covers.  _'Maybe tonight I'll actually be able to fall asleep.'_

I pass out as soon as my head hits the pillow.

**~~Soul's POV~~**

"Ahh..." I finish downing a two liter of soda. Wiping my lips, I smirk, ready to initiate my plan to stay up tonight to see if Maka will go to sleep or not.  _'Good thing there's no school tomorrow...'_

Being extra quiet, I make sure not to slip on the floor like I always do. It feels like an eternity when I get to my meister's door with all the tip-toeing I did. I expected to hear her flipping pages in her book or something, but my ears hear nothing.

"Nyah? What is little scythe boy doing up so late?" I freeze in a battle position.

"Oh, it's just you, Blair," I sigh and relax, running a hand down my face. "None of your business," I snap.

"Soul-kun! You're so mean!" Blair mews, pouting.

"Blair! Shhh!" I gesture my hands downwards to shut her up. She yips and covers her cat mouth with her cat paws. "Go!" I shoo and  _'Thank goodness!'_  she leaves. "Man, either Maka's the world's quietest reader, which I know is definitely not true, or she's...she fell asleep!"

I carefully open the wooden door, wincing when it squeaks a bit, then continue. "At least she had the decency to change her clothes this time around..."

Turning around, I leave to go bed, myself.

**~~Maka's POV~~**

_'I can't...I-I can't brea-the...' Dots spot my vision as I hang onto consciousness. I can faintly see Asura above me, his smile maniac and impossibly long. Black ooze drips from between his teeth. My lungs feel like they're about to explode. Then I start coughing up blood with little air I have to cough. The Kishin laughs evilly. He holds the pressure to my neck hard, but not enough to knock me out. A long finger-nailed hand raises above me._

_It slams down on me._

***Gaaaaaasssssppppp***  I shoot up in bed and quickly grab hold of my neck, taking in quick and shallow breaths of air. My entire figure is shivering and I'm drenched in sweat from head to toe. I brush my bangs out of my eyes, not liking the feel of them being stuck to my forehead.

Looking to the clock, I see that it's only 1 o'clock. Bringing my knees up, I hug them against my chest and lay my head down on top, just staring at the night sky.

The moon taunts me as I don't go back to sleep that night.

**~~Time Skip brought to you by: Sleep deprivation! It can be a-~~**

My head jerks as a slam erupts in the apartment, jostling me from any kind of rest I'd be getting. "Maka?" Someone knocks on my door.

"Yeah?" I say through a yawn. They knock again, so I groan and reply with a stern, "Come in!"

My door opens to reveal a boy with white hair, ruby red eyes, and pajamas. His hair's all messy and he looks like he just woke up. "How'd you sleep?" he asks me.

I roll my eyes and throw off my covers. "Fine. What do you want for breakfast?" I start digging though my drawers.

"Don't worry 'bout it, it's my turn to cook. I'm makin' toast." My partner shuffles out.

I shake my head with confusion from Soul. _'Why'd he come in here if he was gonna make breakfast anyways?'_ I put on my clothes and exit the bedroom. Instantly, butter wafts through the air and makes my mouth water. I mindlessly take a seat at the table.

"Alllright. Toast is done." Soul sets down two plates of toasted bread and butter. I smile and lift my head to thank him but when I do, I see him drool with a big grin. Flashes of Asura appear in my eyes and I stand quickly, pushing back my chair and holding the table tightly.

Warbled sounds echo through my head. _'Is it Soul speaking? Or...or Asura?'_  I grip my head, almost pulling out my hair, and scream.

**~~Soul's POV~~**

"Crap!" I shout instinctively when Maka flips out, knocking over her chair and gripping onto the table so hard her knuckles turn white. "Maka?" I shout. She doesn't seem to hear me as she looks around, terrified of...something. "Maka!?" I go to grab her shoulder, but she recoils when I do, again, looking terrified.

Then she grips her head and screams, loudly.

I cover my ears and close my eyes from the sheer velocity of her shriek. Opening one, I see my meister kneeled down on the floor, still gripping her head but now quiet. "Maka..." I slowly take two steps towards her. She doesn't move, it's almost like she fell asleep or something. "Hey, Tiny Tits, get up..." Maybe using the nickname she doesn't like could snap her out of whatever this is but, again, her figure is still as a tree.

"Nyah? I heard screaming!" I whip my head around to the new voice in the room. Blair stands there, licking her paw, curiously.

"Blair! Uh... Oh! You're a girl, what's wrong with Maka?"  _'Uncool, but what else do you want me to do?'_

"Neh?" She cranes her neck to look past me. "She's just sleeping, silly!" she claims and waddles off, tail high, out the window.

"Sleeping?" I ask myself, examining the blond on the kitchen floor. "Well, she does look peaceful..." I gasp in realization, "Dammit!" I smack my head. "That's it, you're going to bed and I'm going to Professor Stein's." Lifting my partner up, I put her in bed, grab my coat, and leave our place.

**~~Time Skip brought to you by: The moon's grin, oozing blood like it drank a full glass of wine~~**

"Stein? Open up!" I pound on the crazy guy's door. "Stei-" It opens and my fist stalls in mid-air. The person who answered stands tall, lanky, and uncertain. Their pink hair flows naturally messy.

"Y-y-yes?" Crona asks.

"Crona, where's Stein?" I voice with urgency.

"He...he-uh, he went out, had a mi-mi-mission," they stutter and looks to be on the verge of breaking down. I sigh and brush pass them. "Whoa!" they startle.

"Sorry, Crona, but it's an emergency." I start looking around for anything that could help Maka.

"What kind of emergency!?" A new voice rings loudly in my ears. I groan.

"Maka hasn't been sleeping, I'm looking for something that'll help her," I answer.

"Oh? Well Crona takes these pill things whenever they can't sleep! They're over here! Cro-Crona! Move!" Ragnarok forces Crona to move to a cabinet, where he reaches up and snatches a pill bottle on the top shelf. I walk over and the black blood hands it to me.

Turning it around in my hand, I read the contents.  _'Sleeping pills for those who can't sleep'_ "Straightforward but it'll do..." I throw the prescription up in the air, then catch it with a smirk. "Thanks, guys, this'll do. See ya." I leave the stitch covered building.

**~~Time Skip brought to you by: Sleeping pills, I take 'em!~~**

"So, I'll put this in her tea and bam! She'll finally get some sleep!" I tell my plan to the boys smugly.

"Sounds like a job for an assassin!" Black*Star kneels up in the booth we're at, punching the air with determination.

"No." I glare at my friend.

"While this seems like you have the right motives...I do not know if you should do it without her consent." Death The Kid puts his hands together and rests them on the table next to his empty plate.

"She keeps saying that she's getting sleep, but after this morning? It's gone to far and she's  _going_ to get some sleep," I state.

The shinigami sighs, "Alright...just...be careful."

"You got it." I smirk.

**~~Time Skip brought to you by: Time skips...I'm out of what to say for 'em...~~**

"Maka! I'm home!" The door slams behind me. I hang my coat up and slip off my shoes.

The blond shuffles out of her room, yawning and rubbing her eyes. "Hey, Soul, where've you been?"

"Out with the boys." I circle my hand around her figure. "Did you finally get some rest?"

"No, I was working on that assignment for next week."

Throwing my head back, I groan and nod dissaprovingly. "Makaaaa, you idiot, you need sleep."

"I do not! I don't see why you care, anyway," she pouts and crosses her arms.

"Makaaaaa..." I moan and move to the kitchen blindly. I prepare some tea and slyly slip a pill in. Mixing it until it dissolves completely. "Here..." I place her cup down on the coffee table near the couch.

"Oh, thank you, Soul." She smiles sweetly and picks it up. Blowing it a bit and lifting it to her lips, she takes a sip and sighs in satisfaction. "It's good."

"Heh, I know." I sit next to her and turn on the TV, sipping my own cup of tea.

I end up watching TV for a while until I feel something fall on my side. Looking down, I see that Maka has fallen asleep and is now leaning on me. "Che. Finally." I pick her up and place her in her bed, turning out the lights and closing the door behind me.

I watch a little more TV by myself before going to bed, too.

**~~Time Skip brought to you by: Another one? Dang this story's long...~~**

"Gah!" I fall out of bed, my limbs tangled above me, wrapped in my blanket. Moving my head to and fro, I don't see anything out of the ordinary.  _'So why did I wake up?'_

***THUD***

My body jumps in place. "What the..." I place my hand on my knee and get up, ignoring the loud pop that came with it. My door opens ajar and Blair comes in. Her hair is sticking up and her tail is stiff. "Blair? What the heck was that?"

"I don't know...I was just coming home and was going to jump into Maka's room, but her window was shut so I came around. I think the thud came from her room." Blair didn't 'Nyah', so this must be seriously freaking her out. It's certainly freaking  _me_ out.

I slowly make my way to my partner's room. "Maka...?" I try. No answer, but another  ***Thud*** , though quieter than before. I knock once. Twice. "Maka?" Still no answer. "Maka, I'm coming in, don't hit me." Opening the door, I face something that I thought I'd never see in my entire life.

Blades. Specifically, scythe blades, are coming out of my partner's knees. One grows too long and hits the ceiling, causing another  ***Thud***  to erupt.

"BLAIR!" I yell, not taking my eyes from this scene.

"Nyah? Ah!" I hear her come up beside me, twisting around my legs.

"Get. Stein. QUICK!" The feline salutes me and runs off.

"Maka!" I take a step closer to her. "Whoa!" Just nearly dodging a blade, I breathe a sigh of relief. Not only are her knees sprouting weapons, but her elbows, too. Her breathing is erratic and shallow. Hair is sticking to her forehead as she sweats enough to fill a grand canyon...and then another two medium sized canyons. Maka shifts wearily onto her side, making it the perfect position for a blade to strike me.

She's mumbling something, but I can't comprehend what it is.

"Maka-MAKA! Wake up!" I want to get close but I can't without risking myself. "Ow!" A blade nicks my finger. Blood runs down my arm and drips onto the floor. "Screw this." I jump on top of my meister, grab her shoulders, and start shaking. "Maka! Wake up! It's just a bad dream, come on! This isn't cool!" Continuing dodging blades, I hear the front door open and slam shut.

"I came as fast as I could. What's the problem?" Stein appears in the doorway. When he sees what's happening, he takes his glasses off and cleans them.

"Professor Stein! She won't wake up!" Another blade slices through skin.

"Step away before you hurt yourself anymore." I do what he tells me. "Crona told me you came by earlier and took some of their sleeping pills?" he asks me.

"Yeah...Maka refused to sleep...so..."

"I see."

"Can you do anything?"

"Usually when Crona takes a pill, they're out all night. Maka, however, is having an intense nightmare, so intense her weapon blood awakened and is now going haywire in fright." I can't believe what I'm hearing.  _'Maka? Weapon blood? What the hell!?'_

"Maka has weapon blood? Whoa!" I duck under a blade. "Also, she needs help! She's terrified!" Gesturing to her trembling body, I glare at the doctor.

"Luckily, I came prepared." The grey-haired scientist pulls out a huge syringe that even makes me gulp. "Don't worry, it doesn't hurt..." I sigh. "much..."

_'Of course...'_

Stein expertly dodges each blade coming from the girl and sticks the needle in her arm. Everything is quiet until an ear piercing shriek echos throughout the neighborhood, probably.

Standing there and watching my meister scream in pain is something I vowed to never let happen. But here I stand, watching the exact thing happen all because I made her sleep.  _'She hasn't been sleeping because of these nightmares...they're...taunting her, haunting her...and I didn't see it...'_ Turning, I punch the wall, hard. "Dammit, Maka! Why didn't you tell me!" My sharp teeth grind in frustration.

"Done." Stein's voice brings me back to reality and I just now realized Maka's screaming has stopped. Her body lays still but her chest is heaving. Getting an idea, I run to the kitchen, quickly grabbing a towelette, running it under some cold water, and return in record time. Making my way to the girl, who, ironically looks like sleeping beauty right now, (she'd hate me if I called her that...) I dab her forehead.

A sigh of relief escapes her throat, causing one to escape mine as well.

"So?" I ask, moving her blond hair out of her eyes, then dabbing her head some more.

"She'll wake up just fine. Though she'll probably be sore from where I inserted the needle. I warned her about her soul dimming...It's even more dim than before, too." The doctor hums as I look on with worry. "I suggest you two talk when she gets up. This could be very serious and the nightmares could be quite literally eating her from the inside."

That's the last I saw Stein, as he promptly left without another word.

Maka sleeps peacefully the rest of the night, thank goodness. I lay awake, not wanting to leave her alone.  _'I wonder what nightmares are eating her from the inside...and why she didn't tell me. Does she even know about her weapon blood?! If so, why wouldn't she tell me?!'_ I yawn into my hand. The blankets behind me stir.

I get up and see the scythe meister move about in bed. Her eyes squeeze shut and then open, blinking a few times before adjusting. "AH!" She flails her hands.

"What!?" I cry.

"What are you doing in here?" she demands.

"Maka...we have to talk," I say sternly. She blinks and slowly nods. I start, "Your soul is dimming, badly."

"I-I know, Stein said that I'd need to work on it..."

"Well it's even worse, now! You've been having nightmares for how long? And didn't tell me?" The girl bows her head guiltily. "Spill. It's uncool to keep this bottled up."

Sniffing, she goes, "It, uh, it started after we got back from the infirmary. Every time I go to sleep... _he's_ there...waiting for me, ready to kill me in any way possible and painful."

"Who's he?"

"Asura," she says, gulps and keeps going, "He either kills me or tortures me every nightmare. But...but this time...this was the worst. And for some reason...I couldn't get myself to wake up."

Frowning, I pat her shoulder. "That would be my fault..." She looks up with wide eyes into mine. "I took a pill from Stein and slipped it into your tea, hoping you'd finally get some sleep. Well that plan backfired." I chuckle a bit to lighten the mood. "Ow!" She punched my arm pretty hard, so I rub it.

"Not cool, Soul, at all." She frowns.

"Keep going," I urge.

"This time...he, he showed me the battle. He showed me all of your dead bodies, Kid, Liz, Patti, Star, Tsubaki, but with you...you were still alive. You're usually already dead, so I was pretty ecstatic this time. But he grabbed you and...I don't think I can un-see what he did to your mangled body," Maka chokes. I hug her side.

"You don't have to finish..." I tell her quietly.

"No, I need to know. Soul, am I half weapon? Asura- he, he was beating me so bad I fell unconscious but when I awoke, there were blades lining all around me in defense. I was scared at first, not knowing where they were coming from, until I looked down. My elbows, forearms, ankles, knees, they were all protruding silver blades."

"Yeah...you are..." I admit and she gapes. "I woke up last night to a loud thud. Opening your door I see you having a nightmare with blades spraying everywhere. I tried to wake you but it didn't work, so Blair got the Professor and he came in. He stuck a needle in ya and you made...oh man, you screamed in agony. It was horrible just listening to it." I swipe a hand through my snow-white hair.

"I- I remember that pain. I thought Asura did something again," Maka ponders.

"Look, Maka, I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have drugged you. It was uncool of me."

"It was...but thanks for taking care of me." She smiles so I return it.

I ask, "So, how can we stop your plaguing nightmares?" scratching my tilted head.

"I've tried everything," she sighs sadly, "read every book, every wiki page online. Stein said my soul is dimming from being attacked mentally. Assuming it's the nightmares, I don't think it'll stop going down in brightness."

"Well...we're gonna get through this, together!" I smirk and hold my hand up. Smiling brightly for what seems like the first time in a while, Maka takes hold of my hand determinedly.

"Right."

**~~Time Skip brought to you by: About a week later!~~**

"Soul! I'm done!" Maka skips out of her room, holding a few pages of paper and flailing them around.

"Cool, let's see." I take the sheets and start to read. "Looks good," I praise.

"Thanks! Did you finish yours?"

"Yup." I pop the 'P'.

"Well let's hurry up and get to school before it starts! I'm totally getting an A-plus on this assignment!"

I laugh, "Of course you are, ya bookworm."  _'Uh-oh'_  I realize my mistake as I see an angry tick appear on her head.

"MAKAAAAA-CHOP!"

As I lay on the ground, gripping my head, I smile through all the pain,  _'Glad to have you back...Maka.'_

**~~Maka's POV~~**

"My name is Maka Albarn and this is what I wrote for this week's assignment." I clear my throat and look determinedly at everyone staring at me in class.

Tsubaki gives me the thumbs up. Kid nods approvingly. Liz and Patti giggle and smile. Crona shyly smiles and waves. Black*Star stands up and shouts, "YAHOO!". I shake my head with a giggle.  _'Classic Black*Star.'_

Soul. Soul just smirks. But it's how he displays it that makes me happy. If you ever got a smirk from Soul you'd assume it's out of amusement, or mischief. But this smirk, this smirk is the kind of smirk he only shows to me. The smirk he's giving me isn't really a smirk, but a genuine smile. He doesn't do that much but when he does, it's only to me. It gives me courage. So with that, I take a deep breath and continue reading.

"An unstable soul." I start with the title. "An unstable soul could happen from lots of things. Insecurities, dark thoughts, abuse, mental or physical, and bottling things away. You don't realize when your soul is dimming because it happens slowly, painlessly, and secretly. Your mood starts to change. Anything you enjoy starts to fade. Relationships strain as you isolate yourself. You try to control it, but you can't. You try to talk to someone, but you're afraid. Of what? Well, that depends on you."

I take another deep breath and continue.

"There is no exact cure for a soul that is burning out. The only thing you can do is get help. From a friend, a family member, a teacher, or even your weapon/meister partner. My soul was dying out last week." I let the classroom gasp and then continue, "I thought I could handle it myself. Be independent, not needing to rely on my weapon for once. What I didn't know was that I was pushing away the cure all along.

When you partner with someone, your souls become linked. And when you become linked, you're pretty much bonded for life with that person. My soul was so dim, I didn't  _want_ help from my partner. I pushed him away. And when he finally cornered me and talked to me, everything came out. Gradually, the world started looking brighter again. I felt like doing stuff. I could actually sleep without nightmares. I learned more about myself!"

I place the papers down and close my eyes, focusing on my weapon's soul.

"I'm Maka Albarn and I believe I've found the cure for dimmed souls."

The whole classroom erupts with hands smacking against each other. My friends come down and pat me on the back. Stein gives me a huge smile. "A-plus," he says. I smile widely, beaming.

Through all the cheering, I feel one thing. Soul's soul. His soul radiates pride for me. I can tell because he's sending the wavelength to me, specifically.

"Ready to go, Maka?" Soul coolly leans against the doorway, hands in his pockets. He won't admit it, but after the whole ordeal with my soul, he's become even more over-protective of me. But he still likes to retain his cool status at school.

"Yup!" I smile, hands clasped behind my trench coat.

_Dear Diary,_

_To end it here, Stein teaches me about my weapon blood. (Apparently it's how I held out against Asura!) I ignore Papa as much as I can. I don't like him gushing about how much of a daddy's girl he claims I am. My and Soul's souls are stronger than ever, you should see our resonance!_

_This is Maka Albarn, signing out!~_

**Thank you everybody who read this story! The idea came to me one night and I finally decided to write it. If you have any question, ask me! I'll reply in private messages. This is my first Soul Eater one shot, so I hope it's good!**

**If you're new to my profile, check out my main story; Gravity Falls REBORN!**

**Kudos~**


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